Business briefs

06 Feb 2004

Including news from Osram, Covion Organic Semiconductors, NEC and more.

•  German lighting company Osram has signed a LED patent cross-license agreement with Lite-On Technology, a LED packaging company based in Taipei, Taiwan. Osram has granted Lite-On a royalty-bearing license to manufacture and sell surface mountable LEDs as well as white LEDs that use phosphor conversion technology. In return, Lite-On has granted Osram a patent license for “special manufacturing processes”.

•  Covion Organic Semiconductors, the German maker of organic light-emitting materials, has appointed GrandTrend Corporation as its marketing and sales agent in Taiwan. Covion says that the agreement will help it increase its profile in a region that is a major centre of excellence in OLED device technology and has a flat-panel display market that is growing at around 30% per year. The Frankfurt-based firm already has an office in Osaka, Japan and an agency agreement in Seoul, South Korea.

•  NEC has agreed to sell its plasma display business to fellow Japanese firm Pioneer. NEC's display business employs around 1100 staff has estimated sales of yen 50 billion ($469 million) for the financial year ended 31 March 2004. Further details of the transaction will be announced at a later date.

•  DALSA has received contracts totalling C$3.9 million for its high-performance CCD cameras. The orders, which will be completed this year, were placed by two leading suppliers of flat panel display inspection equipment. “Flat panel display inspection is a key market that is driving significant growth in out digital imaging business,” said DALSA’s chief executive officer, Savvas Chamberlain.

•  Photonic Materials, a UK based developer of optical crystals, has secured £3.75 million ($6.75 million) in a third round of funding. The company says it will use the cash to ramp up production of its LYSO and LuAP crystals, which will be used in next-generation positron emission tomography body scanners.

•  Eikos, a US developer of carbon nanotube coating technologies, has received a $1 million investment from Itochu International of the US. Eikos says it will use the funds to develop high-transparency conductive films for a variety of applications including flat panel displays, solar cells and OLED lighting.